Bali regulars, mark your calendar for late 2014 and the slated opening of The Stairs, a dreamy Philippe Starck creation from design to interiors, in Seminyak.

In Starck's first hotel in Indonesia, a 19-metre-wide stairway will lead to 12 villas, each with floor-to-ceiling "glass skin" walls by graffiti artist JonOne, a loft bedroom, personal concierge and one-of-a-kind furniture in each villa.

The public areas will have a patisserie, restaurant with a French influence, mezzanine library, guest pool, spa and gym.

Sheraton Noosa's distinctive exterior is set for a colour change, from apricot to white, as part of a $10-million upgrade for completion in August.

On popular Hastings Street, all its rooms and Cato's Restaurant will undergo a facelift. Owner Starwood Hotels and Resorts has big plans for its Sheraton brand, with 30 new openings worldwide in the next 12 months. It says more than half will be in China, including the extraordinary ring-shaped Huzhou Hot Spring Resort by architect Yansong Ma, as well as four in Saudi Arabia, two in Turkey and two in Brazil, in anticipation of the World Cup in 2014 and summer Olympics in 2016.

Castle throws down gauntlet

Victoria's Kryal Castle, the place for all young knights and princesses in the 1970s, reopens in March and with it, 17 rooms of a mediaeval persuasion.

On the side of Mount Warrenheip near Ballarat, suites at the castle feature hand-woven French and Belgian tapestries, and guests will have special access to the castle's attractions — jousting, a torture chamber and a dungeon. While the castle officially opens on March 2, rooms are available now from $145 a night.